GoonBlog.com

Hockey fight blog with humorous, blow-by-blow commentary on goons, enforcers and donnybrooks

Hockey fight blog with humorous, blow-by-blow commentary on goons, enforcers and donnybrooks.

Florida Panthers

Boston. The new Whoville.


in Chris, Florida Panthers, Goons, GoonSquad, Gregory Campbell, Mark Stuart, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Shawn Thornton

It would appear Christmas has come roughly six months early this year for Boston Bruins fans! PC and the Crew (sounds like an early 90’s boy band) swung a lovely deal yesterday sending the poster boy for the Bruins woes, Dennis Wideman, the 15th overall pick this year, and another pick in 2011 to the Florida Panthers for 2003 3rd overall Nathan Horton, and Gregory Campbell. This is a little like trading a bag of cancer for a 19 year old huge hootered blonde that can fry a steak like a Texan. It’s a great trade for both clubs, and ironically enough, probably the first domino to fall in a series of deals for both clubs.

Why is this a great deal for both clubs? Glad you asked. Dennis Wideman needs a change of scenery worse than Whitey Bulger right now. He was consistently booed at home, and was the target of the best heckle I heard all year. A guy over my right shoulder had been screaming Wideman you suck! all game against the Rangers. Well, don’t you know, Wides scored the game tying goal, or game winner, I can’t remember. Either way, it was a big goal. As the arena is quieted and play is about to restart the guy screamed, Wideman! You still suck! He just couldn’t win for losing, and it affected his play. There were some really big gaffes on his part defensively, and that’s doubly bad because he’s not very good defensively, that cost the Bruins some goals at timely points in games. The guy’s confidence was totally shot, and you could see it in his body language.

I think the change of address will only help Wideman get his game back together. It’s gotta really suck getting constantly booed at home the way he did, and I don’t think he’ll find that in South Florida. I wish him nothing but the best, and I hope he can get his game back together.

What the Bruins got in return has me downright giddy. Nathan Horton is a prototypical Bruin. He’s rough and tumble, and would just as soon god through you, as around you. I have been a big fan of this kid since his arrival in the league, and I don’t buy his reputation as a guy that doesn’t give his all every shift. I have been impressed with him every time I’ve seen him play, and I think some of the alleged attitude issues may stem from the fact that the Panthers are constantly sucky. I’d have a hard time giving it my all every shift if I played for them too. What it really gives the Bruins, is a finisher to play with Savard that can put you in the 4th row if need be to retrieve a puck. Look at the potential first line, and tell me you aren’t as happy as a little girl.
Lucic-Savard-Horton
Really? How eager are opposing defensemen going to be to retrieve a puck when the Bruins start chip and chase with those two bearing down? I love it, and I think it gives them the swagger they need to play their best hockey.

Also coming over in the deal was Gregory Campbell. He’s Colin Campbell’s son, and a grinder that the Bruins need to sign. I hope he’s not a salary dump like the Eaves deal from Carolina last summer because I think he can really helps this club. It sets up a 4th line of:
Campbell-Sobotka-Thornton
Here I am, all giddy again. Thorton fights the heavies, Campbell the lightweights, middles, and light heavies. Lucic fights whoever he wants. It’s a great situation to be in, and the deal also frees Boston up to decide on Johnny Boychuk’s future with the club and Mark Stuart’s future as well. I would hope PC and the Crew could deal Wheeler and Ryder too, as they both found their way onto my shit list this past season too, but I may be asking too much there.

The bottom line is it looks like the Bruins brass is willing to look at themselves in the mirror and realize there is an issue. This deal changes the complexion of the team for the good, and hopefully they don’t totally fuck up the draft on Friday. Also, with free agency looming the week after, they need to keep their focus sharp and not do anything stupid. So far, so good.

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Call off the Search. It’s Hockey Week in Acton!


in AHL, Anaheim Ducks, Brad Staubitz, Brodie Dupont, Byron Bitz, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris, Dallas Stars, David Koci, Florida Panthers, Gary Roberts, George Parros, Goons, GoonSquad, Hartford WolfPack, Jared Nightingale, Los Angeles Kings, Lowell Devils, Mark Stewart, Matthew Corrente, Mike Brown, Milan Lucic, Milan Lucic (the dog), MOL, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Old Time Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pierre-Luc LeBlond, Sean Avery, Shawn Thornton, Sheldon Brookbank, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Worcester Sharks, Zdeno Chara

What would you believe as a plausible answer for where I have been since my last post?
1. On a whirlwind hockey adventure in which I saw parts of 12 games?
2. Starring as Kenickie in a production of Grease on Ice?
3. Drunk in a bar?
4. Jail?
5. Getting drunk in a bar, after being released from Jail?

Which one was the least believable? Number 2? Yeah I thought so too. If you guessed number 1, you are absolutely correct.

Hockey Week in Acton has become as grand a tradition as Hockey Day in Canada. They usually coincide with each other as luck would have it. My Hockey Week in Acton began last Friday night in Lowell in which I saw kind of a weird fight, and finished up last night at the Hub of Hockey with a real Old Time Hockey type game against the Ducks. Truthfully, it’s still going on as MOL is out, Milan is chewing my shoe, and the Habs are losing 2-0 to the Flyers. For the sake of this post, it ended last night.

Friday February 20th: Hartford at Lowell.
You would think with Sean Avery in town there would be a buzz in the building eh? I guess you’d actually need people in the building for that. Avery behaved himself, and only took a 2 minute penalty for something. Hooking maybe? Either way, he seemed pretty content (Habs scored, 2-1 Philly. I hate both these teams) to just play some hockey, and ignore some pretty creative signs. My favorite was the one with Rachel Hunter (FUCK 2-2. Good time for a fight) and Elisha Cuthbert on both side, and the words, Sorry Sean, these girls only date NHL players. Pretty darn funny. PL3 did ask him to go once, but he ignored him like he wasn’t even there.

Speaking of fights (DAMMIT 3-2 Habs), there was kind of a weird fight in this game. After drilling Hartford’s Brodie Dupont, Lowell’s Matthew Corrente was engaged with Hartford’s Jared Nightingale. The two dropped mitts and were about to square off when Dupont took decided he was going to do his own dirty work and fight his own battles. He dropped his gloves and went right after Corrente. Nightingale just kind of stood there and picked up his gloves as the other guys had at it. Very weird indeed. Not sure how Dupont didn’t get a third man in call, as Nightingale and Corrente were clearly engaged, but whatever. OK little scrap. I like Corrente a lot. He is afraid of no one, and is a good little hockey player to boot. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in the black and gold some day.

Hockey Day in Canada. Saturday February 21st. Started with Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, ended with Nashville at St. Louis with stops in LA, Dallas, and Florida.

I saw most of the Penguins game, except I missed the fight. The third period of the Dallas game, all of the LA game, all of the Bruins game, and the third period in St. Louis. I missed the fight in Philly due to a lunch break and the fight in the LA game because Milan had to poop. MOL was sick and asleep on the couch, so I parked it and flipped around. It was a superb way to spend a Saturday. I heard a couple of Edwardsisms all around the NHL. Obviously they were all over the Bruins game, but I heard two layers of defense and a few half boards. I am forgetting one. George, help me out here.

Sunday February 21st. First period of Pittsburgh at Washington. Worcester at Lowell. Third period of Boston at Tampa Bay. Lowell lost in a game best described as zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and Boston sucked in Tampa. Mark Stuart got beaten so badly coming out of the corner on Tampa’s 4th goal, I’m not sure his jock strap made the trip back to Boston. I just missed Shawn Thornton’s fight with David Koci in between periods, and I saw the replay of Stuart’s tussle with Gary Roberts. Needless to say, after the Bruins trip, I was concerned about the game against Florida Tuesday night.

Monday February 22nd. San Jose at Dallas. I could only muster the first period of this one, as MOL was kind enough to pass her cold onto me, and Milan and I could barely keep out eyes open. At the first intermission I asked her if she wanted to go to bed. She barked twice for yes. Then we went to bed, and she decided to bark at shadows in the bedroom for 30 minutes. Not good times. She is cute, but like her daddy, not bright.

Tuesday February 24th. Florida at Boston. This one found George and me in the Hub of Hockey and Hungry for Hockey. Like I said, there was great concern heading into this one. Good thing for us, and all the Bruins faithful (by the way, still plenty of room on the bandwagon) at the Garden. We were all hoping for the team we saw in November and dreading seeing the one we saw as of late. Luckily, they gave us the Marty McFly treatment and went back in time to the November club. Just a dominant performance by the boys, featuring a scrappy Nick Kobasew getting into it with Keith Ballard. He is playing like a man that doesn’t want to be dealt. The star of the evening was Byron Bitz. He chipped in 2 goals and had the 17,000 faithful chanting his name for the trick. They tried to give him a chance at it by putting him out on the ice at the end of the game, but it wasn’t to be. Still, Bitzy has played very well, and I expect great things from him in seasons to come. I have been very impressed with him and I hope he kicks the shit out of Huggy Bear tomorrow.

Wednesday February 25th. Lowell at Worcester. Yes, I willingly traveled to Worcester to see the Devils. What can I say? I’m sick. After some heavy apps. At Pizzeria Uno’s we settled into the DCU Center for what turned into a pretty interesting tilt. There were no fights on the night despite some serious chatter between PL3 and Worcester’s Brad Staubitz. Both clubs seemed pretty content to just play some hockey, and referee Terry Koharski seemed eager to get into his trusty green cooler of Bud Light as not a lot was called.

Thursday February 26th. Anaheim at Boston. George and I were back at the Hub of Hockey, and obviously, Hungry for Hockey. 4 dogs, some cookies and 2 sodas. Not a bad haul. Anyway, the Bruins are back baby! Notice to the rest of the NHL: if attempting to intimidate the Boston Bruins, I might suggest a different strategy. I love the Ducks aggressive strategy, but I love it even more when the Bruins respond. It was a rough and tumble affair the featured 2 fights and one Marc Savard taking matters into his own hands in self defense. Oh, plus a 6-0 bloodletting by the hometown team.

It all got started at 8:20 of the second period. After watching Princeton grad, former teammate, and resident tough guy, Yanni, er, George Parros flatten Marc Savard; Shawn Thornton went right over the boards despite it not being his shift to make big George pay for what he’d done. Thorts hopped over, and went right after Parros. They dropped mitts and had at it. Thornton did pretty well trying to get inside on the bigger Parros to take away the drastic reach advantage. It looked like a couple of shots were landed to the license plate on Parros, and Thornton got the takedown. (No points scored, and in MY NHL, would be an extra penalty for Thornton. The crowd loved it however, so I’ll move on.) Kudos to Thornton for doing his job, and reason number 7829 why I enjoy him so much.

The fireworks continued at the 14:49 mark. There was a little battle for the puck in front of Anaheim’s goal, when Mike Brown decided to cross check Milan Lucic (not my dog. That would be crazy) and then sucker punch Gino. Naturally, Milan went right after Brown, and pummeled him down to the ice. Normally, I take issue with a fighter continuing to throw punches when the other combatant is down, but when you jump someone like Brownie did, all bets are off. Sheldon Brookbank got the gate for being the third man in whilst trying to remove Lucic from his teammate by force. Then everyone, except the Captain of the Bruins, came in to get in on the action. I will never understand why Chara feels the need to stay on the periphery of such eventsI guess I should stop expecting him to jump in on stuff like that, but in my mind, they should still be trying to separate him and Brookbank. Alas, the dust up was cleared. Gino went to his box in obvious pain, and anger, screaming at Brown the whole way. Brookbank was shown the door, and play resumed.

It resumed, but it wasn’t long until Scott Niedermayer and Marc Savard were involved in a little tussle. While standing at the far blueline, Niedermayer took it upon himself to plant 3-4 cross checks on the small of Savvy’s back. Having just about enough of that behavior, Savard decided to do something about it. He engaged Niedermayer and both dropped the gloves. It doesn’t look like either guy threw any punches, or the old fart took Savvy down, landing on him. Both were given roughing minors, and Savard did not return. If I may, NIEDERMAYER! DEAD! I really can’t explain how cross I will be if Savard is out for an extended period of time. If Niedermayer is traded back to New Jersey as per one of the rumors I’ve heard, someone on the Bruins better go after him when they return to town next month.

So, there it is. Despite learning all of Kinickie’s songs, and dance moves, I have been on a hockey binge that continues with a very good Flyers game right now, and will continue with the Blackhawks when this one is over. Then to Vancouver for the Tampa Bay matchup at 10. Really, does it get any better than spring hockey?

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Sid the Goon?


in AHL, Chris, Florida Panthers, Goons, GoonSquad, Lowell Devils, Milan Lucic, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tony Twist, Washington Capitals

I heard on Versus the other night that fighting in the NHL is up 30% this season. I love that stat. It tells me the guys are starting to police themselves once again. After the lockout, I think a little snarl has been taken out of our beloved game. The NHL needs to stop pandering to casual fans, and work on keeping the die hards they have. You get new fans by doing the wildly successful New Year’s Day Winter Classic (viewership up 12% this season for a Blackhawks collapse) you keep the fans you have by allowing the Old Time Hokey games to be played. Could this be the year the instigator is finally gone?

One man wishing for no instigator today, is number 87 himself, Sidney Crosby. After being announced as the starter for the East All Stars (voting is a total sham, and I will not watch this game. Carey Price? Really?) Sid the Kid took out some serious frustrations regarding the Pens recent skid on Florida’s Brett McLean. With the Pens down 4-1, and in the midst of a three game losing streak, Sidney decided to send a bit of a message to the group that he’s tired of losing, and isn’t going out like that. I like this fight, and don’t like it for a couple of reasons.

1. As the Captain of the team, sometimes one has to take matters into his own hands. It’s part of earning the C. For Sidney he earns it by being arguably the best player in the world on any given day, not by getting 19 minutes in penalties.

2. When Crosby does decide to fight, he’s not all that bad at it. Now before you guys go all crazy on me here, consider this. Last night’s fight was Crosby’s second career fight. I saw his first one live in person when he beat up Mr. Green of the Boston Bruins. He has pretty good balance, and doesn’t throw slaps like a baseball player charging the mound. I am not anointing him the Champion of the league, I’m just saying. For a guy that does what he does, he’s not bad at it.

3. I don’t like it, because he’s arguably the best player in the league. I read The Code, and in it, Tony Twist was telling a story about Brett Hull getting in a fight. When Hull came back to the bench, Twist said something to the effect of, Hey, good fight. Don’t ever do it again. Point being, that’s Twister’s job. It’s the enforcer’s job to enforce. I applaud him for taking matters into his own hands, but it’s his job to score. Someone else should be doing the fighting.

Speaking of slaps charging the mound, another non enforcer had a fight last night. Washington’s Alexander Semin got into it with the Rangers Marc Staal. There was a little pushing and shoving, then, hilarity. Watch this fight. If it doesn’t make you laugh, you don’t have a sense of humor. As an aside, I am not 100% sure Craig Laughlin, the color analyst for Caps games, wasn’t drunk last night. He called Marc Staal Eric three times, and when Semin got the gate for not being tied down, he had no idea why he was getting tossed. Is it just me, or should the color analyst be all over that? Andy Brickley would have known exactly why Semin was being tossed, as well as had an interesting anecdote about playing for the Baltimore Skipjacks, while Jack Edwards stroked himself to a Milan Lucic glossy photo.

PS: Go to Youtube and watch the MSG feed of this scrap. Trust me.

I’m off to Lowell today for the Devils. Good job last night Sid. Bummer you had to take matters into your own hands, but you got some points from Goonblog for doing so. Maybe you can start a little fight club. Your first student? Alexander Semin.

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Boston, You’ve Been Warned


in AHL, Anaheim Ducks, Barry Melrose, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Derek Boogaard, Florida Panthers, Hal Gill, Los Angeles Kings, Lowell Devils, Lowell Lockmonsters, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Riley Cote, San Jose Sharks, Sean Avery, Shawn Thornton, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tom Rowe, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals

MOL, George, and I went to Feng Shui for a very serious throw down, two Mai Tai’s and the division of Bruins tickets for the upcoming season. If you are in the Chelmsford area, I highly suggest stopping in. In fact, here is a quick ranking of my top 3 local Chinese restaurants.

1. Feng Shui. Chelmsford, MA. Try the General Gau’s shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, and the house rice. Very strong Mai Tai. Nice buffet on weekends
2. Bamboo. Westford, MA. Johnny is the heat! Strong Mai Tai. Excellent shrimp tempura, salt and pepper pork, and lo mein. Excellent buffet as well.
3. Makaha Acton, MA. Excellent Pu Pu. Mai Tai strong enough to run your car on. Excellent Juke Box. If you’re looking for a dark place to get a Pu Pu and get loadedthis is it. No real redeeming qualities other than they let me drink in there when I was 16.

In keeping with the Public Service spirit, I thought it appropriate to let you know the games in which I have drawn. Reason being, if you are a faithful Goonblog reader, you might want to stop by and say hi, or if you are a faithful Goonblog reader you know what happens at these games when I go, so you might want to avoid being in the City of Boston all together. Should be a great season, and I am getting more pumped by the day. I can almost hear the roar of the Zamboni, OK, the propane whine, of the Zamboni!

I have 9 games on my own. I’ll probably need a date for 8 of them. MOL will go to opening night, and that’s about it for her. Maybe I’ll run a contest. Go to a Bruins game with a guy that is trying to disprove Dean Wormer’s fat, drunk, and stupid theory..that’ll be cool.

George has 10 solo games. We were very surprised how easily the schedule was divided. It just kind of fell into place easily. No arguments at all. Sort of the opposite of MOL and me.

We will both be in the house for 20 games, and are giving away 2 games that neither one of us can attend. It looks like January is going to be a busy month of hockey for me. Between the Bruins, and the Lowell Devils, I will be at 15 hockey games. That’s a lot of hockey. This is going to be great. Breakdown is below.

My solo games in BOLD in case you want to enter my Fat Drunk and Stupid contest.

Oct. 20th. Opening night. Penguins. Probably MOL’s only appearance of the season. Come see her in all her glory.

Oct. 23rd. Maple Leafs. George wasn’t too happy about this one. He saw every Leafs Bruins tilt last year, and admitted the 10-1 or 10 something loss the Bruins took at the hands of Toronto was the only time he’s ever left a game early. Can’t blame him. I was there too, and I left early.

Nov. 1. Stars. Sean Avery is a shit disturber, and I love it.

Nov. 6th. Leafs. George couldn’t take it (seeing the Leafs again), so I took one for the team here.

Nov. 13th. Canadiens. Now way either one of us was missing the Habs, or Georges Laraque’s debut in the Garden as a Canadien. This one will be electric.

Nov. 28th. Islanders. I love the annual day after Thanksgiving game. Kinger and I had a blast two years ago. MOL might actually want to come to this one.

Dec. 8th. Lightning. I am interested in seeing Steve Stamkos.

Dec. 18th. Maple Leafs. See what I mean? George hates the Leafs.

Dec. 20th. Hurricanes. I am happy Tom Rowe has a job in the NHL. There are still a few faces left on this roster from the old Lockmoster days.

Jan. 1st. Penguins. MOL and I were going to Chicago, but decided a trip to Florida for a couple of Bruins games was probably a better idea. I can’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year than by watching the Bruins and Penguins slug it out. The last time I went to a game on New Year’s Day was against Philadelphia a few years ago. Dave, MOL and I went, and I assure you. It did not end well.

Jan. 3rd. Sabres. Not sure why I agreed to go to this game. I have an unexplained and unnatural hatred of the Buffalo Sabres. Not sure why.

Jan. 6th. Wild. Boogieman. That’s the reason I’m here.

Jan. 8th. Senators. This is going to be an interesting club this season. Eager to see how they react after all that has happened to them over the last season. Jason Spezza, when he wants to be, is a God.

Jan. 10th. Hurricanes. Love the Matinee.

Jan. 13th. Canadiens. Hopefully the bad blood is really boiling by now.

Jan. 27th. Capitals. If you have never seen Alex Ovechkin live, I highly suggest doing so. You can’t take your eyes off of him.

Jan. 31st. Rangers. Original Six matinee. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Feb. 10th. Sharks. Joe’s second trip as a Shark. His first one was short lived, but a great performance. If you remember, he got kicked out very early for boarding Hal Gill. Questionable call at best. I just don’t like Gill, so I was cheering wildly. Pretty sure the people in my section didn’t like it.

Feb. 24th. Panthers. What else is there to do on a Tuesday in February?

Feb. 26th. Ducks. George Parros and his awesome Porn ‘stache in the house. Can’t miss it.

Feb. 28th. Capitals. A matinee and the Caps?! I can’t lose!

Mar. 3rd. Flyers. Shawn Thornton and Riley Cote. I am looking forward to these guys having a go.

Mar. 5th. Coyotes. Probably my most anticipated game of the year. Todd Fedoruk, Brian McGratton, and Daniel Carcillo all on the same club? This could be my Center Ice West Coast team of the season.

Mar. 14th. Islanders. Nothing better to do.

Mar. 19th. Kings. This should be another interesting team. Revolving door in goal. Some decent talent in Dan Boyle, and Teddy Purcell possibly coming in. Very young on defense. Really could go either way.

Mar. 31st. Lightning. Barry Melrose will field a scrappy team. No doubt.

Apr. 2nd. Senators. We’ll know by this point if the Senators have put all their troubles behind them.

Apr. 4th. Rangers. Original Six matinee. Can’t miss it.

Apr. 14th. Canadiens. Great way to end the regular season.

So, there it is. I am really looking forward to this year. It should be awesome. I may need a good divorce lawyer after as that is a lot of hockey. I think MOL understands the psychosis by now though. Let’s get it on.

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